


Off the Record

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Secret Affair, small town, small town lawyers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 07:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6845503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>belle-french said:<br/>storybrooke au: belle and gold are lawyers; they are secretly dating but they pretend to hate each other in order to gain clients/win cases/etc.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Off the Record

She was buttoning her blouse when the door to Adam Gold’s office swung open. Belle jumped, her hand covering the top buttons she’d yet to reach, then calmed when she realized who it was.

“You scared me,” Belle whispered, staring at Jefferson coldly then breaking into a sneaky grin.

Jefferson rolled his eyes, holding out a stack of papers. “Your 1pm is here. And Mr. Gold’s 12:45pm has been waiting,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Adam, who was standing behind Belle and fixing his tie. “People are going to figure you two out one day, with the way you go at it every lunch break.”

Belle shrugged, combing her long, dark hair through with her free hand and quickly putting it into a ponytail. “Look good?” she asked, raising her eyebrows at her secretary. 

“Of course,” he said, his tone sarcastic. She grinned again, taking the papers from him and turning at the door. “See you tonight?” she asked Adam, who nodded, a lazy smile on his face. Jefferson wasn’t sure how or why he had become the only person in town to know about their secret dating life, but he wasn’t sure he liked it.

Jefferson and Adam were left alone, and Adam adjusted his suit coat a final time. “Tell my 12:45 they can come in.”

“I could tell Ariel why Belle is here every afternoon,” Jefferson offered instead, and Adam rolled his eyes. His secretary, Ariel, thought Belle was in his office to discuss cases. Not for - more amorous reasons.

“You wouldn’t,” he replied coolly. He had no way of knowing this, but he knew Jefferson felt some loyalty to Belle after being under her employment for the past year.

The taller man nodded, stopping by the door. “I sometimes think she  _ wants _ to be caught.”

Now that was an interesting notion indeed.

\---

For a long time, Adam Gold had been the only lawyer in Storybrooke. Given that he’d lived there his whole life, it made sense for him to return where his roots were after graduating from law school. He knew most of the citizens well enough that they could settle things out of court. He wouldn’t say he was  _ liked _ , per se, but he did his job and that was what mattered. Adam knew he could be harsh and direct, but that’s what made a good lawyer.

For as long as he could remember, the office space next to his had been empty. That was, until Mills & Mills Law sent a lawyer into town. Adam had been operating independently, and doing it well. This person, this new lawyer, came with an agenda from Boston that surely just wanted to scrape the citizens of their money. He was certain of it. Adam was ready to fight tooth and nail to get corporations like Mills & Mills out of Storybrooke.

He didn’t expect their lawyer to be young and beautiful. Young - fresh out of law school, but smart as hell. Quick-witted and charming, immediately likeable. Beautiful in every sense of the word. She didn’t dress dully like some female lawyers he’d been acquainted with, always in sharp dresses or pantsuits that were somehow flattering on her. She had long, brown hair that contrasted her shocking blue eyes well. Belle managed to always be wearing high heels that clipped with authority in the courtroom or around the office, but still inches shorter than him when they went toe to toe. 

Their facing off happened more often than not. She took on a landmark case in Storybrooke history, the issue of what land on the beach belonged to Dennis Smee, resident fisherman and cannery owner, and what belong to the city. She was fighting for the mayor - Regina Mills - who just happened to be the daughter of the head lawyer at Mills & Mills. The case had favoritism all over it, but Belle hit the books and every town charter she could get her hands on. The judge, the honorable Glory Lucas, sided with Belle. She won.  It was Adam’s first loss in years, and his overall numbers took a significant hit.

One night, a few weeks later, he found himself sitting next to Belle at the Rabbit Hole. It was a Friday night, and almost everyone was almost drunk. She was focused on her phone, and he felt awkward as he motioned for another drink from the bartender.

“Always working?” he said in a low voice, wondering if Belle would even hear him.

She glanced over at him, setting her phone down. “Not work. E-mailing relatives in Australia.”

“Australia?” he asked, like an idiot. Of course he’d noticed the accent.

Belle tucked her hair behind her ear, nodding and pursing her lips. “Yeah. My family were the first to come over here. My sister - my sister just had a baby and I can’t afford the trip over.”

“Oh,” he said, not sure how else to reply. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “It’s fine. So I’m just at this  _ lovely  _ establishment on a Friday night,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice, “drinking my sorrows away. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

“Lawyer AND psychiatrist?” he said, faux-scoffing at her. “I suppose I’m just drinking because there’s a kickass new lawyer in town who’s running me out of a job.”

Belle looked surprise, and he couldn’t believe he had said that. “Out of a job?”

He motioned around the smoky bar. “Not many people in this town, and you keep winning cases.”

“You pretty much won the Nolan-Oro divorce case,” she pointed out. “And you got that pharmacist paid leave for a traumatic fall due to narcolepsy.”

Gold shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. “The people in this town like you more.”

“It’s because I’m new. It makes me interesting. They’ll lose interest and choose what they know over what they don’t soon enough.”

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

“Just a guess,” she said, swirling her pink straw around her drink. “I’m here alone, aren’t I? It’s tricky to make friends when you’re the new kid.”

“I’d be your friend,” Adam said seriously, “If I hadn’t decided we’re already sworn enemies.”

She began to laugh, and he discovered she had a roaring laugh, punctuated by snorts. Her laugh made him laugh too, and she was wiping the corners of her eyes from tears when he stopped laughing. “Oh God,” she said, “That was the hardest I’ve laughed in forever. Thank you. It’s a shame we have to be enemies.” 

“It really is,” he said. It was also a shame she was only talking to him because he was the only half-sober person in the bar and that they’d likely never talk again.

A loud rooster began to squawk, and Adam jumped. Belle jumped too, reaching for her abandoned phone. “It’s my sister, I’m sorry, I -”

“Go! Talk to her!” he said encouragingly, and she smiled, kissing his cheek before hopping off her chair and running out the door, phone clutched to her ear.

Adam felt a blush rise to his face, and the bartender winked at him. “Think she likes you,” the young man said, before sliding him another drink.

Two days later, Belle pounded him and his client into the floor over a car accident. Directly afterwards, she walked in and out of Ruby’s Restaurant after seeing him eating in one of the booths. The town gossip, Blu Fayre, saw this and immediately spread rumors of a huge feud between the town’s two lawyers. People were picking sides and taking allegiances, and Adam was at a loss for what to do. Maybe Belle had forgotten about being friendly with him at The Rabbit Hole. Maybe he needed to forget, too. If she wanted to be cruel, he could be cruel right back. He was a more seasoned lawyer, anyway, and he felt payback was served when he got the Judge to agree to cutting the budget on the library’s funding.

He was, naturally, at a loss, when she came clip-clip-clipping into his office one day, two sack lunches in hand.

“What are you-?” he asked as she sat across from him at his desk.

“Lunch,” she said, like this was obvious. “My plan worked perfectly, Adam.”

“Your - plan?” Adam repeated, still baffled. Belle was distributing food between them like they were best friends.

“Do you like mustard?”

He shook his head no.

“Right,” she said. “Pegged you as more of a ketchup guy.”

“Belle,” he said, growing irritated. “What in the world is going on? You act like you hate me, and then you show up here like we’re friends.”

Belle raised her eyebrows, biting the corner of her lip. “I suppose I should explain.”

“I suppose,” he said, watching as she bit into a sandwich. 

“Well,” Belle began, between bites, “I figured, if we act like we hate each other, it’ll gain us both support and loyal client. People who hated you already would come to me, and people who were neutral or already loyal to you would stick with you. It’s a tactic, Adam, honestly. You couldn’t tell I was faking that hatred towards you?”

“God, Belle,” was all he could think to say. 

“I’m sorry if it wasn’t clear,” she said. “I winked at you leaving the courtroom last week.”

“I thought you were having problems with your contacts.”

“I don’t wear contacts.”

“Oh.” 

There was silence then, just the sounds of them both chewing. “I’m sorry again,” she said quietly.

“It’s okay. So you don’t actually hate me?”

“No, not at all.”

“That’s good, because I - I actually really liked you. When we talking at The Rabbit Hole.”

Belle smiled at the memory. “I like you, too. A lot.”

“Oh?” He said, his tone questioning. Her voice had taken on a tone he didn’t recognize. It wasn’t her court voice and it wasn’t her friendly voice.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” she confessed, and, in an unprecedented move, she slid the food off the desk and leaned over it, suddenly kissing him, her hands on his face, then running through his hair. Adam sat, absolutely still for a moment, then began kissing her back.

When they split apart, she was grinning, hands pressed against the desk, leaning towards him. “I was thinking about that, specifically.” 

Belle somehow wound up sitting on his desk, her legs straddling him at his chair. It all happened fast and he lost track of what time it was, or where he even was, or how his tie got to be loosely hung around her neck. When they stopped kissing, Belle was breathing heavily, her forehead against his.

“Now,” she said, in between peppering his face with kisses, “I - need - you - to - give - the library - those - funds - back.”

“Are you serious?” he asked, leaning back in the chair.

She nodded, eyes wide. “I’m friends with the librarian, Tiana. She’s pissed off you got your way on that one.”

Adam smirked. “So there’s your ulterior motive for seducing me.” 

Her mouth dropped open, feigning innocence. “Maybe a little. But not all of it.”

Just as he was going to reply, the door swung open, and a tall man wearing a dress shirt and khakis strolled in.

“Oh my god, Belle,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I had to talk my way through the redhead at the front to get through. Is your little picnic-”

The man’s rapid stream of words stopped when he saw the food cartons on the floor and Belle now quite literally sitting in Adam’s lap.

“Oh,” he said, his hand flying to his heart. “What do we have here?  A secret affair? I dig it.”

“Yes!” Belle said quickly, “A  _ secret _ affair. As in, nobody but us three knows.”

Belle slid off Adam’s lap, her cheeks burning as she picked up the food cartons from the floor and put them in his trash can. The air was thick, and it was clear everyone felt awkward. Adam reached his hand over his desk, which the man weakly took.

“Adam Gold, lawyer.”

“Jefferson Hatts, secretary.”

They shook, then looked at Belle, who was fumbling with wrinkles indented on her dress. She slid Adam’s tie off her shoulders, handing it back to him. “Thanks,” he mumbled meekly.

She nodded, looking between the two men. “Jefferson, can you excuse yourself and tell Emma I’ll be there momentarily?”

“Emma?” Adam said. “You got the Swan case? She’s been my client for years.”

Belle shrugged. “That’s what happens when you forgot to feed her cat for a weekend. She comes to me.”

“The cat _ didn’t die. _ ”

“Ah, but her loyalty to you did.”

“This is cute, but, I’m gonna jet,” Jefferson said. Belle and Adam watched him leave, both embarrassed that they’d forgotten he was there.

“So,” Adam said, exhaling slowly. He was still sitting at his desk, and Belle was standing across from it, her lips swollen from kissing him and her hair mussed. “How is this going to work?”

“Like this, I’d imagine,” Belle said, glancing around his office. “My office, your office. Pretty easy.”

“Easy,” he agreed, though he felt something sinking in his chest as he agreed, tying his tie back to it’s normal position as Ariel paged him about an afternoon phone call from the mayor. 

\---

 

The town still thought they hated each other, and they certainly acted like it in the courtroom, which somehow made things all the more passionate when they met in secret. Belle began keeping makeup and a mirror in his office. It was funny little things like that that got to him. They’d discuss cases together, giving each other tips from their various viewpoints. Then, somehow, they’d gotten to discussing their families and their goals and their secret dreams.

It was in those quiet moments, 3am with only sheets separating them, that he had fallen for her. It was accidental - he knew what she wanted from him was only physical, and he didn’t mind it. It was animal, it would be fun while it lasted. He was too old for her, certainly, and she couldn’t think he was attractive.

But when the power went out and they ate take out together by candlelight, and she talked about her family, or when they’d ditched work one day and left before the sun came out for the beach, he couldn’t help it. It didn’t feel  _ just  _ physical, it felt emotional, too, and he couldn’t help but feel like Belle felt the same way. 

After their last midday make-out session, Adam realized Jefferson might be right. Maybe Belle did want to be caught. All she had to do was ask, and he’d take her to dinner at Ruby Restaurant, or go for ice cream in townsquare, anything. He’d go public with her in an instant. He  _ could _ go public with her in an instant.

It was a spur of the moment decision, and it was crazy, but he was going to do it anyway. He printed the proof impatiently, putting it into his briefcase and talking the short walk to Belle’s office.

“Ms. French is in a meeting,” Jefferson said in a bored tone, looking up lazily from his computer. “Oh. Mr. Gold. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Neither is Belle,” he confessed. “How long until her meeting ends?”

“A minute or so-” Jefferson said, when Belle’s office door opened and her and she exited, shaking hands with a kind-looking African American man.

“I do think I can help you,” he heard Belle say. He heard her voice catch for a moment when he caught her eye, then returned right to dazzling her client.

The man smiled. “I’ll be contacting you shortly.”

“You can talk to Jefferson right over there about payment and I’m going to have to step back into my office with -”

“Mr. Gold,” the man said, nodding at Adam.

“Billy,” he returned. “Ms. French, if I may have a moment of your time.”

Belle looked confused, and when they got into her office, whispered, “I have another client in like five minutes. I’m all for quick, but I don’t think it’s humanly-”

“This won’t take five minutes,” he said, and she frowned, her hands across her chest.

“What is going on, Adam?” Belle asked impatiently.

He loved when she got riled up like this. He put his briefcase on her desk, opening it, and handing her a single document.

“What - what is this,” she said, looking up at him, her expression unreadable.

“I think you can read it,” he said with a nervous laugh.

“I can.”

“And -”

“It says ‘French & Gold Law.’ Together. Like we’re partners. It’s a sign concept.”

“It would replace the two separate ones outside,” he explained, taking the paper out of her hands. She was watching him, her mouth slightly open, and he couldn’t tell if she was shocked happily or just annoyed. “I’ve had the concept, um, done for months. You could quit at Mills & Mills and we could partner up.”

Belle closed her mouth, nodded, still staring at the paper.

“And you could move in with me,” he finished. 

Her eyes finally left the paper, and she put her arms around his neck, pressing herself close to him. “I thought you would never ask,” she whispered, kissing him fervently.

When the door opened and Blu Fayre was standing there, camera phone in hand, it didn’t take long for word to get out that the sworn enemies had turned into lovers. French & Gold quickly turned into French-Gold, and it wasn’t long after that they had a third set of tiny feet learning to walk in their renovated offices.

**Author's Note:**

> I took some liberties, so small town lawyers/courts handle everything from divorce cases to car accidents.  
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
